DEVELOPING AND IMPROVING ANIMAL RESOURCES

拟建的动物资源改善项目的主要目标是

The primary goal of the proposed animal resource improvement project is to upgrade the existing Central Animal Facility in the Medical Center's Korman Research Pavilion to provide optimal environmental controls for current biomedical research projects, and to ensure a program of animal care that is consistent with the USDA Animal Welfare Act, AAALAC recommendations for care of laboratory animals, and PHS policies. This plan for improvements supplements the Medical Center's overall plan for upgrading the Korman Research Pavilion infrastructure; it requests funding only for improvements directly relevant to the Central Animal Facility. The specific aims of this proposal are to: 1. Improve and upgrade the environmental controls of the Central Animal Facility's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC). The outcome of these improvements will be the ability to control temperature in the animal areas to within plus or minus 1 or 2 degrees, control the relative humidities at a rate of 40-60%, and maintain proper ventilation rates. This will provide increased protection for the health of the experimental animals and will limit environmental variations that can affect researchers' results. 2. Acquire additional equipment, such as a HEPA laminar air flow bench and additional microisolator units with racks. This equipment will be incorporated into the animal facility's existing microisolator system to improve effective animal care. 3. Resurface floors which are currently painted, and which are subject to chipping and surface irregularities that impede proper cleaning. A seamless, easily sanitized surface contiguous with wall surfaces will be the result. 4. Renovate existing animal facility space to provide a lockable administrative support room adjacent to the existing office area, which is a passageway to other rooms. The locked area will then provide storage for reference materials, the CAF computer, and confidential documents such as protocols.